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Arriving back at her apartment, Brennan was not surprised that he parked in the garage and followed her upstairs. When she reached her door she looked up at him and sighed, then continued unlocking her door and pushing it open. She entered her apartment and Booth followed behind her and he locked the door. She turned and looked at him, clearly annoyed, then turned and picked up his over night bag and brushed past him, opening the front door again and waited.

Booth stood silently and crossed his arms refusing to leave and in response, Brennan huffed and stomped her foot once on the ground. When he still refused to move, she tossed his bag into the hallway and walked over to him, grabbing his arm and attempting to force him out of her apartment.

"Bones, what are you doing?" he asked, slightly laughing at her unsuccessful efforts.

Brennan looked as though she were playing tug of war and loosing badly, "I'm not going to play this infantile game with you anymore. I want you to leave." She yelled.

Booth's face became serious and he grasped her arm, "I'm not going anywhere." He said.

She glanced up at him and then back to the arm she was trying to pull, "Yes you are!" she said, mumbling in her efforts to eradicate him from her apartment.

"No Bones," he said, pulling her towards him, "You don't get it. I… am not… going… anywhere." He said, emphasizing his words.

She stopped pulling on him and looked him in the eyes, her face was contorted in confusion and her head tilted to the side, not grasping what he was trying to say, "What?" she said, furrowing her brows.

He bent over and looked her dead in the eyes and she was caught off guard by his proximity, "I refuse to leave you, Temperance."

She wriggled out of his grasp and backed away slowly realizing that the conversation was no longer about literally leaving, "How do I get rid of you?" she asked softly, massaging her arm where his firm grasp had just been relinquished.

He took a step toward her, "You can't."

She shook her head and refused to look at him, but he knew that she was fighting off overwhelming emotions that she didn't want him seeing, "There must be a way." She said.

His heart was aching in his chest at the sound of her tear sodden voice, "I guarantee you that it is impossible. Do you want to know why?" he asked. She nodded slightly, still refusing to meet his gaze, "It's because I know that the more you push me away, the more you need me by your side. I've known how I felt about you for a long time and I've known even longer than that, that this wasn't going to be easy; getting you to let me in. You set people up to let you down so that you can prove your hypothesis that love doesn't exist true and so far, you've had grade A, one hundred percent positive results that you were right." He said, putting a hand on her shoulder. She flinched away, but he insisted, "Temperance, I am going to be the exception. I am going to prove your theory wrong. I will not disappoint you and I won't leave you just because you pretend that is what you want. So go ahead, kick me around, call me names, tell me you hate me, because I know," he took a step forward and this time she didn't move away, "that deep down, you love me as much as I love you."

Temperance looked up at him finally and knew that he wasn't being insincere. She pulled back immediately and he sighed, "It won't work, Booth. You think that love is all that matters in this situation? Love will take away all of our problems? What about work, Booth? What about our jobs? What about Parker and the life that you want? I can't give you a happy family, Booth. I don't even know how to start. I'm distant and cold and the only thing I care about are bones. You can't be happy with me. I want you to have a chance to have all of the things that you have ever wanted and being with me will only hurt you in the long run." She shrugged and walked back to the door and leaned on the frame, "I don't want to be with you because I will never want to give you what you need."

Booth looked down at his shuffling feet and then back up at her nodding. He took a few steps to the door, but veered off path trapping her between his arms and body. His voice was a low whisper and it strangely reminded her of the day at the shooting range when they were heatedly debating the differences between cops and squints "Since when do you decide what makes me happy, Temperance?" he said half jokingly, half completely serious, "If I understood you correctly, you want to be with me, but you're too afraid that I won't get what I want because we would be together. How do you know what I want?"

Brennan crossed her arms and shifted on her feet, "You're a family man, Booth. I'm not. My family abandoned me and I have never felt the urge to make one of my own. I'm independent; antisocial. I don't need or want a man in my life. I don't…" she said taking a deep breath and lifting her gaze to meet his, "I don't love you. Right now, I'm not even sure that I like you."

Booth smiled a cocky smile and leaned it, "Liar."

"Get out." She said forcefully. The smile quickly melted away and she knew immediately that she had made a mistake. She tried to get out of his hold, but he pressed his body up against hers, pinning her to the wall. Despite being completely exhilarated by the feeling of him against her, her face remained stony, cold and objective, "This is assault Agent Booth." She said firmly.

"I'm not done talking to you yet." He said, "Will you just listen to me?"

Brennan writhed underneath him, trying to make an escape but failed, "Get off of me and leave."

"If you're so uncomfortable with it, why don't you yell? I'm sure one of your rich neighbors will call you and inform you that a homeless man is trying to take advantage of you in the doorway." He said, humorlessly. She stared back at him, challenging him to make a move on her, but she knew that he wasn't going to physically harm her in any way. He wasn't that kind of man; what he was doing was merely trying to make her understand and she knew that the only way he could accomplish it was by physically overpowering her because that was his only advantage over her, "Listen to me, Bones. You don't get to decide what makes me happy. It is my choice and mine alone. You are what I want and you are all I need to be happy. If you don't want children and the white picket fence and a dog, fine. I don't know why you ever thought that I did."

Her eyes widened, "You don't?" she asked, her voice unintentionally softening.

"No; that life is not who I am. I'm a cop; we fight bad guys everyday together. We live loud, noisy, exhilarating dangerous lives and I will never trade that to have a quiet 'normal' life in the suburbs." He could tell that he was reeling her in and it was getting him excited, "And yeah, having another kid would be great, but I have Parker and he's more than enough to keep me happy."

"What about the dog?" she asked.

Booth smiled, "We could get a dog, if you want. But not one of those yappy purse dogs." He laughed. She smiled and rolled her eyes at him, "So tell me, Temperance. What do you want?"

Brennan smiled and looked away from his face. When she turned back to him, her eyes were teary, "You." She said simply.

Booth smiled at her and ran the back of his hand across her cheek, collecting her tears on his skin, "Well, what are you waiting for?" he asked.

She laughed before running her hands through his hair and pulling him in for a kiss. Booth laced his arms behind her back and lifted her up into the air and she wrapped her legs around his torso. Booth laughed, then kicked the front door closed, leaving his belongings in the hall to retrieve later. Then he walked them both down to her bedroom.

The phone rang. Considering that the occupants of the apartment were currently unavailable the call went to the machiene.

"You have reached Dr. Temperance Brennan. I am unable to answer your call at this time so please leave a detailed message at the beep. Thank you."

"Hi, Doctor Brennan. This is Charlene McKenzie; Apartment 5D. I think I just saw that homeless man again outside of your apartment. I'm not sure but, I think he may have been taking advantage of you. I was just wondering if there was something I should be doing? Give me a call back and let me know that you're okay. Thanks!"

THE END